LION DAIRY & DRINKS

The Lion Dairy & Drinks (formerly National Foods) dairy processing plant in Morwell, Victoria is Australia's largest non-milk dairy production facility. The plant currently produces 34% of Australia's fresh dairy products, including yoghurts, desserts and creams under the Yoplait, Dairy Farmers and Farmers Unions brands.

The acquisition of the Dairy Farmers brand and the increasingly competitive dairy production landscape in Australia-led Lion Dairy & Drinks to conduct an extensive review of its dairy manufacturing operations in 2008. Following this review, a $55M redevelopment project was planned for the Morwell plant to increase its production capacity.

Another outcome of the review was the decision to move to a fully outsourced maintenance model. It was identified that an outsourced model would provide opportunities for resourcing efficiencies through scheduling and reducing the frequency of shift penalties and overtime. The standard of service could also be improved by implementing an output-based specification with KPIs based on plant reliability, response times and preventative maintenance planning.

Project Solution

Programmed Industrial Maintenance was engaged by Lion Dairy & Drinks in June 2010 to provide outsourced maintenance services at Morwell. The scope of services includes routine maintenance, preventative maintenance and ad hoc shutdowns.

Services are delivered by a permanent on-site team comprising of mechanical and electrical tradespeople, leading hands and a full-time site coordinator. The coordinator works alongside the Lion Dairy & Drinks on-site planning team to ensure better coordination across shifts, as well as to plan and manage resourcing for shutdowns.

With an established monthly reporting process, Programmed IM is accountable for and reports on KPIs including:

Programmed IM was able to successfully mobilise a permanent maintenance crew within two weeks thanks to strong industrial relations leadership and thorough planning.

The collaboration of Programmed FM’s on-site coordinator with Lion Dairy & Drinks’s planning team has led to improvements in rostering. In addition, a higher calibre of trades personnel was engaged where necessary. These initiatives have resulted in a reduced maintenance team of 30%, which represents a saving of $1 million p.a.

Programmed IM has successfully introduced significant safety initiatives on-site including the implementation of regular safety talks, safety observations, workshop checklists, as well as engaging in the client’s safety initiatives.

RECENT WORK

High volume temporary call centre roles for a leading Australian telcommunications company